Thanks to a tip-off from Azeez Saheed, we announce that Nokia’s Ovi Maps is nowavailable for free for all users. We went news-hunting and found this announcement from Nokia:
Until today, Navigation has been kept in the hands of the few. Today that changes. We realised that billions of people around the world already have mobile phones that are perfectly suited to delivering Navigation. So we’re going to let them do that. From this day on, Navigation on your Nokia, with Ovi Maps, will be free for everyone, everywhere, to get people to the places they love. Now, and forever.
Nokia further provides the following details:
- Free Drive navigation
- Free Walk navigation
- Free maps and map updates
- Free Events guides
- Free Lonely Planet guides
- Free Michelin guides
The first batch of devices for which the new free application is available for are:
Compatible devices:
- X6
- N97 mini
- E72
- E55
- E52
- 6730 classic
- 6710 Navigator
- 5800 Xpressmusic
- 5800 Navigation Edition
- 5230
The free application will be available for more devices over time. Visit the Nokia Maps page to download your free upgrade.
This move by Nokia is quite strategic, as it enhances the value of their devices. What do you think? Does this move increase your attraction to Nokia smartphones and handsets?
This post was written by
Mister Mobility – who has written 926 posts on Mobility blog.
Founder, Mobility blog, serial lifestyle entrepreneur, speaker, & writer. Charming, passionate, tenacious & non-conformist. Will dance! Follow him on Twitter @Mister_Mobility.
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January 21st, 2010 at 9:10 pm Browsing with
This is a really nice strategic move, this might make more people stick to the nokia brand but this is bad news for the likes of tomtom and other standalone navigation products
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January 21st, 2010 at 10:36 pm Browsing with
i cant wait to have it released for my Nokia E90. I almost paid for the turn by turn navigation last week.
I wonder how tom tom and garmin will survive this.
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January 22nd, 2010 at 8:35 am Browsing with
this is a baaaad move by Nokia. Nokia Maps is better than google maps in a number of ways, so this puts google maps down the scale.
Garmap/Garmin… how will these guys re-act to this? looks bad. very bad. Nokia handsets just became more attractive.
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January 22nd, 2010 at 11:22 am Browsing with
Nokia got it right this time. Nokia maps allows one to download the maps and browse off line. Google maps is free but you have to download huge amounts of data for anything meaningful. Even zooming in or out is not spared of the zeros and ones moving back and forth.
Google maps has no turn by turn navigation outside the US. While the real maps from Google is cool, its really not practical in the real sense. I may look down on my house from space for the first time and squeal in delight. After a few times it loses its appeal because its all I will likely ever do in the absence of other practical uses. Nokia maps is bare bones, but the delight of using the navigation, even for routes one is familiar with, is a delight anytime. Add traffic information, walk to guide and shortcuts etc; its addictive.
My take is that Google has been beaten to this by a long shot.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 2:57 am Browsing with
The folks over at Garmin and Tom Tom are probably like “noooooooo”. Good move on Nokia’s part and glad to see the bar of competition in the mobile space continues to rise.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 6:02 pm Browsing with
archie, when I said “baaaad”, I was speaking slang, as in a great move…
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